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Ubisoft’s planned expansion in Quebec being ‘analyzed’ after government cuts subsidies to game industry

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois speaks with reporters after a press conference to announce Ubisoft's $375 million expansion project at the new company studio in downtown Montreal on Monday, September 30, 2013. Photo: Dario Ayala/THE GAZETTE

The Quebec provincial government is cutting back on $500-million in subsidiary bonuses and many of these tax credits are related to the province’s growing video game industry.

This is potentially a major blow to the gaming industry’s future in the region.

Developers located in the region such as Square-Enix Montreal, Edios Montreal, Warner Bros. Montreal, Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Quebec could be drastically affected by these cuts.

In Quebec City, Ubisoft’s studio was created with the help of government funding and has been the recipient of various benefits since 2005. Also in 2005, the developer received $19-million from Quebec’s government to create 1000 new jobs at its Montreal studio. Ubisoft Montreal also recently acquired THQ Montreal and constructed a new building with hundreds of new employees.

Despite its emphasis on being covert, players can also tackle missions head-on by shooting everything in sight. Handout/Ubisoft Montreal

In a brief email, Ubisoft Montreal public relations team lead, Marie Claude Bernard, wrote, “We are still analyzing the impact this may have on our operations in Quebec. We wish to wait until we have a better portrait of the situation before commenting on the matter.”

In an interview with IGN, Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat said the company will be looking into what the cuts will mean for Ubisoft’s growth in Quebec.

Back in September, Ubisoft announced plans to expand its Quebec-based studios, investing as much as $373-million in operations in order to create 500 new jobs and improve the developer’s facilities. The initial goal was to hire 3,500 new employees in the region by 2020.

While it’s still unclear if these cuts will change Ubisoft’s plans, it’s likely that at the very least the planned expansion of the studio will be scaled back significantly.